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Malaria No More UK in Ghana from Malaria No More UK on Vimeo.
If you’re reading this there is a good chance you have seen our 1.4 Billion Reasons presentation, and you will be a little familiar with the west African country of Ghana - a vibrant country with a growing economy and a emerging democracy and certainly one of Africa’s most dynamic nations.
It should continue to progress, but like many of its neighbours, Ghana is still plagued by endemic diseases like malaria. According to the World Health Organisation, malaria kills around a million people each year, and reduces a country's GDP by as much as 1.3% because of people being sick.
We know that Malaria can be largely prevented by widespread use of mosquito nets, and efforts to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds - stagnant pools of water. In Malaria endemic areas, you can think of a bednet likea toothbrush; an essential piece of health equipment.
This video shows how Malaria No More UK, working with Nets For Life, are working to ensure that communities in Ghana can have access to bednets. They recognise that delivery alone is not enough to get people to use nets, so they are training up local people to speak about why it is so important to use the nets, and use them properly.
Unfortunately, Malaria isn’t just about people dying. Even if a child recovers from Malaria the chances are, they’ve missed a fair bit of school. If when they do return they are put in a lower grade, they may feel embarrassed and drop out all together. This is surprisingly common problem.
Or, for adults, a week off work after a malaria induced fever means a weeks less income to look after your family. That's less money to put into kids education, savings for the future, or less money to get the essentials of food and clean water.
The good news is that thanks to efforts like those of Malaria no more, we're seeing a significant decline in the disease in many parts of the world. The Roll Back Malaria Partnership - the global coordinating mechanism in the fight against Malaria - has calculated that 25 countries - including Eritrea, Rwanda, and Sao Tome and Principe - halved Malaria cases an cases and deaths between 2000 and 2007.
With the upcoming replenishment of the Global Fund, there's an opportunity for all of us to contribute to making sure that we have the funds to scale up the fight against Malaria. That's why we've teamed up with our partners at RESULTS UK, and are giving people the in the UK the chance to write to your local MP about the Global Fund. If you're in another country, you can use the same information as the base to contact your local politicians to ask them to ensure that your government does their bit too. |
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